Without proper planning, I was flying solo. There were a few things I could do to get the ball rolling and then I’d need to sit and pull together a more concrete plan that Gareth signed off.Hopefully it would include a midwife or someone who had more experience than I did.
“I need to ask a few questions before I take some samples,” I said over my shoulder. “Is that okay?”
“Sure,” Sloan replied with a smile, and I was a little more at ease.
Sloan and Erik were proving to have a more calming presence than Grayson. It was a welcomed change in pace.
“Is this your first pregnancy?” I asked, turning back to the screen.
“No.” Sloan laughed. “This is my fifth.”
My eyes widened. “Wow.”
Erik laughed, the deep and wholesome sound filling the room. “We have one girl and three boys,” he informed me proudly.
“They didn’t come with you?” I asked, swivelling my body in the chair so I could look at the couple. The question flew from my mouth before I could think.
“Unfortunately not,” Sloan said. “They’re still young. It’s hard to handle your powers at such a young age with little experience. It would’ve caused more trouble than help.”
“They’re with a… godparent?” I asked.
I wasn’t exactly sure of the terminology Gods used. Were godparents a thing for them? The small thrum of the start of a headache appeared behind my brow, and I rubbed the spot.
Erik shook his head, white-blonde hair flying slightly with the motion. “As much as Grayson would have loved to stay behind, that wasn’t an option,” he explained. “My parents are looking after them.”
Deciding it was probably best not to question their choice of guardian for their children, I nodded. After all, if you couldn’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all.
Two weeks. That was how long Scott had been avoiding me. If she wasn’t at work, she was with Sal, leaving me stuck with Holden, who walked me through menial mortal tasks. They were all tedious, and he irritated me to where peeling my skin from my bones felt like a more appealing option.
I needed to talk to Scott. If they required me to do these tasks, I’d prefer to do them with her. There was something more satisfying in getting her to break from her controlled facade.
I’d restrained myself from any more bedroom visits. This only worked if I chipped away at her slowly, and I was happy to play the long game if it meant breaking her into a thousand pieces and reminding her of her place.
In order to shake Holden and allow Scott the space she craved,Murphy’shad become a regular haunt for me, and Tyler was someone I had a surprising amount of patience for. He didn’t ask many questions, and I helped him behind the bar three times this week to escape Holden and his dull drone.
Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day andMurphy’shad yet to open, so I stopped in on Ignacio, who was with Hunter and Larkin.
“A social call?” Hunter said as I appeared in the garden. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I’m not here for you,” I told him, distaste running through my words.
Ignacio looked up at me from his seat, looking a little less jovial than he usually was, and I clocked on quickly that I’d walked in on a meeting he’d been aiming to set up for a while. A meeting I’d be desperate for him to conduct so we could both get on with our respective lives.
“Join us. I’m glad to see you listened to my warning, and you’ve kept yourself out of trouble,” Hunter said as Larkin came up beside him.
“Oh, I’m not so sure of that.” She laughed. “Is that little scientist of yours still pissed at you?”
“You know nothing, Larkin,” I hissed in response.
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Larkin continued joyfully. “Julia was telling me she said she had no interest in interacting with you. Strong words even for someone with wavering faith.” She let out a laugh. “No surprise. Half of us have no interest in interacting with you.”
“Larkin,” Ig groaned, running a hand over his face.
Hunter shot his wife a disapproving look.
“What?” she asked, eyes large in feigned innocence. “It’s true. Waverly and Aria won’t go anywhere near him. Malachi and Flynn aren’t fussed either.”
The younger elite Gods had always given me a wide berth. They didn’t approve of my job, but it wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter, and I refused to justify my actions to Waverly, Goddess of rest. Who the fuck was praying for a decent night’s sleep?
